A number of methods of producing trihalosilane have been disclosed. For example, the reaction of HCl with zero-valent silicon has been described. In addition, trichlorosilane has been produced by passing silicon tetrachloride, hydrogen, and hydrogen chloride over zero-valent silicon at 600° C. Further, trichlorosilane has been produced by passing H2 and SiCl4 over silicon particles in a first stage, adding HCl to the effluent from the first stage, and then passing the effluent and HCl over more silicon particles optionally containing a catalyst (i.e., CuCl) in a second stage. Finally, trichlorosilane has been produced by passing H2, SiCl4, and HCl over zero-valent silicon containing homogeneously distributed copper silicide.
While the art describes methods of producing trichlorosilane, these methods have some limitations. Many of these processes employ zero-valent silicon. Since zero-valent silicon is typically produced by the highly energy-intensive carbothermic reduction of silicon dioxide, using zero-valent silicon adds costs to these processes.
Therefore, there is a need for more economical methods of producing trihalosilanes that avoid the need for using zero-valent silicon.